


sober

by bobaisbest



Series: modern romance [2]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Friends With Benefits, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:54:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24016288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bobaisbest/pseuds/bobaisbest
Summary: Doyoung doesn’t have a drinking problem. He has a Taeyong problem.
Relationships: Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung/Lee Taeyong
Series: modern romance [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1721617
Comments: 14
Kudos: 283





	sober

**Author's Note:**

> written as a prequel to the previous work in this series but can be read as a standalone

Doyoung only drinks to get drunk. What’s the point, otherwise? He’s a stressed out university student who constantly slaves away for his coursework and part-time job. The only thing he really has to look forward to these days is getting absolutely trashed on Fridays (and Thursdays and Saturdays and sometimes also Sundays).

“You’re a lowkey alcoholic,” Jaehyun says, judgemental in a way that only best friends can be. “Have some fucking self-control. You need to learn how to enjoy a cocktail without blacking out by the end of the night.”

“Why the fuck would I want to do that?” Doyoung says, sending over his best scowl, the one that really makes children cry. But Jaehyun has been friends with him for years and simply shoots back an expression that’s unimpressed in equal measure.

“You really want me to list out the reasons?”

“We’re in college,” Doyoung defends. “We’re  _ supposed _ to be raging alcoholics.”

“Yeah, sure,” Jaehyun says, scoffing as if just last week, he didn’t get so smashed that he threw up in Doyoung’s toilet and then stumbled outside to take a piss right off the second floor balcony. He made Doyoung promise to never bring it up, so Doyoung brings it up again just to piss him off.

  
  
  


When Doyoung meets Taeyong for the first time, he is unsurprisingly drunk and he immediately wishes he wasn’t because he’s just met the most beautiful boy he’s ever seen and he’s probably going to forget all of this tomorrow.

Taeyong is shy in a cute but coy way. He laughs behind one hand and keeps his words polite. His lips also curl into a kittenish smile and he fans his lashes in such a subtle way that Doyoung swears there’s  _ no way _ this boy doesn’t know how pretty he is.

Like most pretty people do, Taeyong has an arsenal of friends who form somewhat of a protection squad around him. Taeyong had later explained that he doesn’t get hit on very often when they go out because he tends to hide behind Johnny and Sehun, who are both very tall and can look very mean when they want to. But Doyoung, in his almost-blackout drunk state, unknowingly slips past this obstacle when he recognizes Baekhyun, a graduated senior from the Advanced Econometrics class he took last year.

“Doyoung! I didn’t know you were on campus this summer.” Baekhyun claps him on the shoulder with so much force that Doyoung nearly drops his coke and whiskey, which is actually mostly ice at this point. “So great to see you. Have you met my friends?”

And then one by one, the giants take turns shaking hands with Doyoung, towering so tall that his neck kind of hurts from looking up so much. Then they get to Taeyong, and Doyoung can finally bring his gaze back to normal eye level.

“Nice to meet you,” Taeyong says, eyes practically sparkling with curiosity. “Do you— um, need another drink?” He points to Doyoung’s empty glass.

“Oh, sure,” Doyoung says, rustling the ice. “Do you want one too?”

Taeyong shakes his head, his chestnut hair flopping adorably over his forehead.

“No, I don’t drink,” he says, sheepishly bringing his hands up. “But I can come to the bar with you. The line looks pretty long.”

Doyoung rips his eyes away from Taeyong’s pretty face to look at the bar. Yeah, the line is pretty fucking long.

“Sure,” he replies. “Come with me.”

Doyoung goes home that night with Taeyong’s number in his phone.

  
  
  


For someone who doesn’t drink, Taeyong puts out surprisingly fast.

Not that Doyoung is slut-shaming or anything. Like, yolo, you know? Live your life, or whatever. It’s just that— an overwhelming majority of the hook-ups in Doyoung’s life have been under the influence, hurried and drunk with the promise of awkward mornings but at least one shitty orgasm to balance it all out. Alcohol makes it all bearable, because it’s easy to blame when the inevitable dance of embarrassment and shame washes over the next day, so Doyoung can’t really imagine how Taeyong is doing all of this sober.

The first time they do it, Doyoung isn’t drunk by any means but he’s definitely buzzed. Work was kind of rough today. The lab is hosting some science camp for a large collection of snotty middle schoolers and the staff had asked Doyoung to configure forty laptops with a day of short notice. The moment he got home, he chugged two glasses of wine and texted Taeyong, asking if he wanted to come over. So sue him. Life is stressful.

Taeyong shows up at his doorstep within minutes, because his research position doesn’t require him to work on Tuesdays and he lives just two blocks away. They put on some shitty Netflix documentary but Doyoung quickly mutes it when Taeyong straddles his lap and kisses his neck.

“You’re so hot,” Taeyong says breathlessly. “I’m like,  _ really _ attracted to you.”

Doyoung blinks.

“You must have very low standards,” he replies. “Are you partially blind, by chance?”

Taeyong lets out a full-bodied laugh, leaning back to sit squarely on Doyoung’s crotch.

“I mean it,” he says. “You’re good-looking. I like you a lot.”

Doyoung smiles, because that’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever told him while grinding on his dick.

It’s funny how life works. Today started out awful but now it’s all great. Taeyong said he likes him. Doyoung likes that Taeyong likes him. Maybe Doyoung likes him too.

He teases the hem of Taeyong’s shirt before sneaking his hands in, holding him by the bare waist as Taeyong bends down and kisses him hard, so open-mouthed and filthy that Doyoung is pretty sure he’s hard by now.

“Get on your back,” he says, lightly pushing Taeyong’s chest. “And take off your clothes.”

Taeyong happily obliges, giggling when his shirt gets caught over his head. Then he lays on Doyoung’s pillow, body curling up cutely as he watches Doyoung strip. It’s almost too much, the gaze of his pretty eyes, so Doyoung distracts himself by rummaging through the nightstand for lube and condoms.

By the time Doyoung pops open the cap, Taeyong’s legs are spread wide open, an enticing invitation as he strokes himself lightly, eyes closed as he bites his bottom lip.

“Doyoung,” he sighs. “I want you to fuck me.” And in that moment, Doyoung thinks he could die happy. Except he can’t because he has to fuck this beautiful boy first.

Taeyong opens up for him so prettily. He tries his hardest to hold still but eventually it’s too much. His hands shakily fist the sheets as Doyoung teases a third finger.

It’s so good, the way his body responds, reacting so well to everything Doyoung gives him. And then it’s even better when he’s actually inside, that tight, wet heat he fucks into. Taeyong wraps his legs around Doyoung’s waist, hooking them at the ankles, and Doyoung figures that’s as much of a signal as any to start drilling Taeyong into the mattress at an unforgiving pace.

“Oh, fuck,” Taeyong gasps, eyes fluttering closed as if he can’t take it anymore. “Doyoung, I’m—”

“Come on,” Doyoung says. “Show me how good I make you feel.”

And then Taeyong lets go, crying out as he comes all over himself. He runs his hand through it, making a mess all over his chest and his tummy, sticky and filthy between his own fingers. It’s so disgusting and so hot that Doyoung can’t help but groan, so close to his own release.

“Doyoung,” Taeyong murmurs, bringing his clean hand to cup Doyoung’s face. “Don’t you want to come inside me?”

Taeyong kisses him then, tongue in his mouth, and it’s good. It’s really good. He can’t remember the last time it felt this good.

And then finally, Doyoung lets go too.

  
  
  


Jaehyun is awfully wary when Doyoung starts dropping hints that he might be seeing-slash-fucking someone on a regular basis. It’s not a bad thing, because Jaehyun has always been somewhat of a worrier and it’s usually best to just let him do this thing. Plus, Doyoung doesn’t really care if Jaehyun gets suspicious, because it’s not like Taeyong is required to win his favor or something. They’re not boyfriends and it’s not Taeyong’s responsibility to prove anything.

So Doyoung keeps his expectations low. He just wants everyone to get along and that would be good enough for him. That’s why, after the first time their friend groups mesh, Jaehyun later tells him—

“Taeyong’s great. I think he’s good for you. I like him a lot.”

Doyoung doesn’t quite know how to respond to that. First of all, he’s not even sure how much  _ he _ likes Taeyong, so how can Jaehyun pass judgement so quickly? Not that Doyoung doesn’t like Taeyong or anything, because he obviously likes him enough to sleep with him. But does he  _ like _ him? The way Jaehyun seems to be implying? He’s barely known Taeyong for a month. It’s not really something he’s thought about at all.

“That’s great. Do you have a crush on him?” he jokes.

Jaehyun deadpans. “Very funny,” he says, and Doyoung can tell he’s not amused because his ears aren’t even a little bit pink.

Even if Doyoung were the possessive type, the prospect of Jaehyun ogling Taeyong isn’t really something he’s too concerned with. After all, Jaehyun seems completely smitten with Johnny, although that’s something Doyoung swears he won’t interfere with or even ask about. Johnny is an adult and he can handle himself. So is Jaehyun, even if he looks like he’s about to have an aneurysm every time Johnny speaks to him.

Aside from that, everything seems alright. Doyoung had initially felt nervous about introducing Jaehyun to so many new people at once because Jaehyun has this weird complex about being a nuisance wherever he goes since he’s the youngest in their friend group (which makes no sense because Sicheng is also a sophomore, and he takes  _ no  _ hesitation in inserting himself into whatever situation he wishes). But it’s fine because Baekhyun’s pretty chill, Johnny likes Jaehyun a lot, and Taeyong just wants to make new friends. They all start hanging out a lot more (and drinking a lot more) and suddenly, in the sweltering heat of July, Doyoung realizes that this summer might not be so bad.

Not that Doyoung hates summer or anything. Well, he actually does, but he also enjoys the freedom it affords. Yes, there is something nice about the routine and structure offered by school but sometimes, he just wants to get off his work shift and not have to think about homework while he shotguns a beer on the lawn of Baekhyun’s fraternity house. He doesn’t know how Jaehyun does it, juggling six hours of credit work, but he supposes that’s the price his friend pays for fucking off to London on a “study abroad semester” when it was really just fucking around with British boys while taking some pass-fail courses.

So really, this summer turns out to be not bad at all. Doyoung can’t remember the last time he clicked so well with a group of people. It’s nice to see them almost every day, see Jaehyun let loose in the moments he can (when he’s not pulling his hair out over an essay due soon or something). It’s a shame, really, because by the end of this summer, all of them will leave. Baekhyun and Sehun have jobs lined up in different states, Johnny is moving to the city for his PhD program, and Taeyong— well, Taeyong still has a year left to graduate but Doyoung’s afraid that he might leave too.

He doesn’t know exactly when, but suddenly, he begins to hope that this might be more than just a summer fling.

  
  
  


To celebrate Johnny’s departure, Doyoung does what he does best: throw a big party and get everyone drunk. Doyoung loves drinking, but it’s no fun to do it alone. That’s why he does everything in his power to make sure that everyone else gets as hammered as he is.

It’s a success, for the most part. He makes Johnny and Jaehyun buy all the party snacks, because Jaehyun looks so sad and depressed that Doyoung figures he’ll play wingman just this once. They wipe out all the bottom shelf vodka Doyoung had purchased in bulk and at two in the morning, he gets a knock on the door from campus police, telling them to quiet it down, which is actually quite an honor by party-throwing standards. Then Jaehyun gets so blackout drunk that Johnny has to physically walk him back home and that’s when Doyoung knows it’s time to call it a night.

As usual, Taeyong stays behind to help clean up, but they give up halfway through because he’s just so cute, huffing about broken shot glasses and buying new Clorox wipes, that Doyoung has to kiss him right now. They leave the empty bottles and cans for tomorrow, stumbling through the sticky kitchen floor and into the bedroom, where Doyoung pushes Taeyong onto the bed and asks how he wants to get fucked tonight. Taeyong closes his eyes in response.

“Any way you want me,” he whispers, looking so beautiful and desperate that it really makes Doyoung wonder how he got so lucky.

“God,” he says, trailing a hand down Taeyong’s body. “You’re so pretty when you’re like this. You don’t mind that I’m drunk?”

Taeyong cracks open an eye, smiling coyly at him.

“I don’t mind,” he says. “Unless you think it’s going to affect your performance?”

Instead of responding, Doyoung just kisses him hard.

  
  
  


Summer ends shortly after. Doyoung moves into a new apartment, Jaehyun aces his summer classes, and Johnny leaves for grad school. They make tentative plans to visit him in the city, but those get postponed when Taeyong finds out he needs to take his car to get fixed in the shop. Perhaps it’s better this way, because Doyoung realizes he needs to slow down. Summer made him enthusiastic, eager to join every opportunity to have fun. It allowed him those late nights, sleeping in every day and barely working three shifts a week. School isn’t like that. It’s rigid and rigorous, especially if you’re in the honors program like Doyoung, and really, he needs to get ready for school.

The end of summer changes a lot of things but perhaps the most surprising thing, or unsurprising, depending on how you look at it, is the fact that Taeyong decides to stick around.

Because he had intuitively associated Taeyong with summer, since they met in June when the days were long and the nights even longer, some part of Doyoung always thought that the end of summer would mean no more Taeyong. Looking back now, it was quite a stupid assumption.

He still sees Taeyong, In fact, despite the whirlwind of packed schedules that autumn seems to bring, he starts to see Taeyong even more. Whether it’s between classes, at the library, or in their apartments. And of course, there’s always those Friday and Saturday nights, when they all go out to the bars, Taeyong tagging along completely sober but not minding at all because at the end of the night, he gets to go home with Doyoung.

It’s not something he was expecting, because Doyoung hadn’t known what to expect at all. He’s not too great at thinking about the future, but it’s okay because Taeyong doesn’t leave. He stays.

And Doyoung is completely fine with that.

  
  
  


To be quite honest, Doyoung has never really been in a serious relationship.

Sure, he’s had boyfriends in the past, but they were all casual to the point where Doyoung is pretty sure he had never, ever fantasized about having a life with any of them past graduation. He’d just never really felt that strongly about them, so the thought never came to mind. He’s not Jaehyun, who can fall in love with someone after just a week of knowing them and suddenly start thinking about what colors they should paint the walls of their future house (which is, ironically, probably the reason why Jaehyun has also never been in a serious relationship).

To put it simply, Doyoung is quite out of practice. Or rather, he’s never had that much practice to start with. He’s clueless as to what boundaries he’s comfortable with or what standards he requires for different types of relationships. It’s all fair game to him, really. It doesn’t really matter to him if a hook-up wants to stay for breakfast or someone wants to put out on the first date. As long as both parties are happy, then he figures why not.

But Doyoung has never met anyone quite like Taeyong before. Suddenly, he’s wondering if he should start thinking more seriously about boundaries and standards because the arrangement they have between them is quickly catapulting into something that he’s never really had to deal with before. Luckily (or unluckily) for him, Taeyong seems to have a very clear definition of what he wants. Doyoung can tell because suddenly, after almost four months of fooling and fucking around, they stop having sex.

“Um,” Doyoung says, fiddling with a stack of post-its that he brought to help annotate a hefty stack of finance readings. “Do you not find me attractive anymore?”

Taeyong looks up from his book.

“What are you talking about?” he says. “Of course I find you attractive.”

They’re sitting in the quiet section of the library, surrounded by empty tables because no sane student wants to do homework on a Saturday afternoon. Except Taeyong, apparently. And by extension, Doyoung too. They’ve been doing this a lot lately, trading in Friday night quickies for ambient weekend study dates. Not that Doyoung minds, it’s actually quite nice. But the lack of physical contact just makes him wonder if—

“What I mean is, um…do you not want to hook up anymore?”

God, that’s such an embarrassing question to ask. The silence of the library only serves to amplify the awkwardness and Doyoung really wants to shove his head into the wall, except he can’t because Taeyong’s got him pinned down with his wide, unblinking gaze.

“You see...” Taeyong says, slowly marking his place in the book and placing it down on the table. “I’m really starting to like you, you know?”

Doyoung stares at him for a second.

“Well, I sure hope you do. My dick has been inside you multiple times.”

Taeyong laughs, completely unfazed by his statement.

“We’re past that,” he says lightly. “So I want to stop having sex. You know what that means, right?”

The cogs in Doyoung’s mind start spinning.

“Right,” he replies.

But on the inside, his brain cells are on fire. Because no— he doesn’t know what the fuck that means.

  
  
  


Okay, Doyoung kind of knows what it means. He’s not  _ completely _ stupid. But…he just doesn’t understand why. It’s as if they had already passed third base but then Taeyong chose to pluck him from the race and drop him right at the start line, making him crawl back to where they were before. And honestly, Doyoung likes Taeyong so much that he would do that. He would crawl for him. On his hands and knees, like a little bitch.

“Oh, shut up,” Jaehyun says in disgust. “It’s not my fault you’re horny as hell. And it’s not Taeyong’s either.”

Doyoung gives Jaehyun a sorrowful look, as if his entire world is crumbling before his eyes.

“Dude,” he says. “Taeyong won’t even kiss me.”

Jaehyun makes a slightly nauseated face and holds his hand up like a traffic guard.

“Alright, let’s back it up. Spare me the gory details. What did Taeyong exactly say?”

“He says we should stop having sex. Because he really likes me.”

“Aww,” Jaehyun coos. “He wants to get to  _ know you.” _

“Fuck,” Doyoung groans. He can’t deal with this right now. “We should drink tonight.”

“What,  _ no—  _ Doyoung, stop that,” Jaehyun scolds. “Stop being so salty and just admit that for once, you want something from someone and you’re getting frustrated that they’re actually making you work for it.”

Doyoung rolls his eyes because that’s totally not true. He’s barely working for anything. Chaste movie nights and cute cafe dates can hardly be considered work. What’s frustrating is that Taeyong is keeping him at arm’s length, even though they should’ve passed that point a long time ago.

It’s weird, he thinks. Not bad, just weird. He knows what Taeyong looks like when he’s on the brink of orgasm, but now it’s like he’s fighting to get facts out of him. To know what Taeyong looks like when he’s happy, when he’s sad, or when he’s frustrated about the tiniest thing. What brand of tea he likes and the specific type of pen he prefers to write his notes with. The names of his dogs back home and what time he calls his sister every week and— oh dear god, Jaehyun is right. This is work. This is a lot of work. Doyoung doesn’t know if he’s ready.

“I don’t know if I’m ready,” he says out loud.

Jaehyun just laughs.

“Yeah, way ahead of you there, buddy. Taeyong met you like, barely six months ago. How is it that he knows you better than you know yourself?”

That’s a great question. Doyoung doesn’t really want to think about it. He flips open his textbook because now seems like a great place to end this conversation and pick it back up at a later time, after Jaehyun has gone away and Doyoung is left by himself. Preferably with a bottle of wine.

“Hmm,” he draws out. “At this rate, you and Johnny are more likely to enter a real relationship than Taeyong and I.”

Doyoung tries not to flinch when the eraser Jaehyun throws at him bounces off his forehead.

  
  
  


Jaehyun doesn’t like to make a show of it, but Doyoung can tell that he’s kind of heartbroken.

Which is funny because there was never anything to be heartbroken over. Johnny and Jaehyun didn’t really talk all that much. They didn’t fuck and hell, they didn’t even kiss. Although, Doyoung will say that he would die for a single kiss from Taeyong right now so he can’t really judge Jaehyun too hard for falling so deep with a guy he met like five months ago.

But honestly though, it’s his own fault. It’s both their faults, actually, for never making a move. For never taking the jump to tilt the seesaw of the fragile friendship they already had. Doyoung thinks it’s funny because he and Taeyong fucked after just a week of texting but Johnny and Jaehyun danced around each other for an entire summer without so much as holding hands by the end of it.

Doyoung had asked Johnny about it, when he and Taeyong had finally got the car fixed and drove up to the city to see him. He slips in the question right after Johnny’s finished complaining about each of the other candidates in his PhD program.

“Why didn’t you ever say anything to Jaehyun?”

Johnny stays quiet for a moment, like he’s really trying to formulate a proper answer. Which he should, because Doyoung is Jaehyun’s best friend and therefore needs to be impressed, especially since Jaehyun already seems to be so impressed by Johnny’s mere existence.

“I’m being patient.” he said. “It really wasn’t the right time.”

And that’s the moment Johnny earns Doyoung’s respect. Because even he knows, making a move on Jaehyun so soon (well, soon by Jaehyun’s standards) would’ve ruined the whole thing. With Jaehyun, you really have to take it one step at a time. If Johnny is as loyal as Taeyong says he is, then Doyoung figures that the moment they actually admit their feelings for each other, Jaehyun and Johnny will fall into perfect step. They’re just that kind of people. The only problem is judging  _ when _ that’ll happen.

“Months,” Taeyong says, stubbing out the end of his cigarette. “Or maybe even years. Johnny is patient. He’ll wait as long as it takes.”

Well, that just sounds tiresome. Doyoung scrunches his nose and looks at Taeyong, who’s closed his eyes to blow out a stream of smoke. Cigarettes seem to be Taeyong’s one bad habit but Doyoung won’t nag because Taeyong lets him get blackout drunk every weekend without a single complaint. But Doyoung doesn’t know if that’s something Taeyong is actually okay with or if it’s something he’s waiting for Doyoung to quit all on his own.

“What about us?” he asks, unable to repress his curiosity.

Taeyong laughs, a broad sound that echoes in the air. The cigarette almost slips between his fingers as his body shakes with laughter.

“Oh, Doyoung,” he says. “We’re already there. I’m just waiting for you to catch up.”

  
  
  


By the time midterm season rolls around, Doyoung is positively dying. He’s got group projects assigned, papers due soon, and council duties busting his ass (because yes, Doyoung is the type of loser to participate in student government). On Friday, Doyoung walks into his business law exam running on three hours of sleep and walks out wanting to do nothing more than pass out. And when he finally wakes up again, he wants to drink. A lot.

It’s not hard to convince Jaehyun. It never is. They meet at his place to pregame, pounding several rounds of shots before leaving for the bars. It’s crowded, because it’s Friday and people are looking to let loose on a weekend. Practically everyone is out tonight— well, everyone except Taeyong, who elected to spend the night in.

Cocktails are half off so Doyoung buys a round for his friends. They run into students from his cohort, then get looped into taking group shots with kids from Jaehyun’s engineering society. It becomes minutes, then hours, dripping by fast as Doyoung has conversation after conversation, not quite remembering all the people he meets but having fun all the same, with always a drink in his hand.

It’s when the night ends that the problems begin. Doyoung is walking home with Jaehyun, in the direction of their apartments, when he abruptly stops at the intersection and decides that he doesn’t really want to go back to his empty home right now.

“Hey,” Jaehyun says, looking at him perplexed. “You good?”

“I’m going to do a little detour,” Doyoung says. “You go home first.”

Jaehyun raises an eyebrow.

“You're going Taeyong’s? Is he even awake right now?”

Doyoung holds up his phone. “He said he’s staying up until I text him that I’ve made it home safely.”

“He’s so fucking whipped for you,” Jaehyun snorts. “Almost as much as you are for him.”

“Yeah, alright,” Doyoung says, rolling his eyes. “Get the fuck out of here.”

Jaehyun turns around with a wave.

“Don’t do anything you wouldn’t do sober!” he calls out as he walks down the sidewalk.

Taeyong’s place is not far at all. Doyoung gets there quickly, gingerly knocking on the door right when he realizes that he probably should’ve texted Taeyong first, just as a warning. But it’s too late because not ten seconds later, the door clicks open quietly.

“I— Doyoung?” Taeyong says, making an incredulous expression as he steps out the door. “What are you doing here?”

He looks homely, with his hair tousled and untidy, wearing an oversized shirt and threadbare sweatpants he stole from Doyoung two months ago.

“I just wanted to see you,” Doyoung says, trying not to slur his words as he puts his hands on Taeyong’s waist.

Taeyong relaxes in his arms, laughing quietly to himself.

“Why?” he asks. “You feel lonely?”

And then he looks up at Doyoung with a heart-shaped smile, eyes sparkling under the moonlight, and Doyoung doesn’t even think, just leans forward to give him a kiss.

Taeyong turns his head just in time for the kiss to land on his cheek. And then he stills for a moment, frozen completely, and Doyoung immediately knows that he’s fucked up.

Since they’ve met, Taeyong has always been empathetic to Doyoung in more ways than one. Which, at first, came as a big surprise to him. After all, Doyoung’s got more than his fair share of flaws. He’s judgemental, nags quite a bit, and of course, drinks way too much. But Taeyong had taken it all in stride. Not once did he ever show signs of wanting Doyoung to change his behavior, which made Doyoung happy because that’s not something he needs. He doesn’t need to be taken care of and he doesn’t need to be told what to do. Taeyong understood him, to a certain extent. But now, it looks like Doyoung is the one who doesn’t understand Taeyong.

“Taeyong,” he says, pulling back. “Look, I—”

“I think you should go,” Taeyong says, disentangling himself from their embrace. “Are you okay to walk back home?”

Doyoung can barely get his answer out.

“Yeah,” he replies. “I’ll be okay.”

“Okay,” Taeyong says, retreating inside his apartment. He pauses for a moment at the doorway. “Text me when you get back, okay?”

“Sure.”

And then Taeyong shuts the door.

  
  
  


Jaehyun barges into his apartment while Doyoung is still in bed, bursting through his bedroom door and making himself comfortable on Doyoung’s desk chair.

“You’re stupid,” he says. “Taeyong texted me.”

Doyoung groans, slowly rising up from the burrow of his sheets. He really wishes that he never gave Jaehyun his spare key, but then who would water his plants while he’s away? Certainly not Sicheng.

“I know,” he mumbles, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “What should I do?”

Jaehyun scoffs.

“The fact that you even have to ask me that just further proves that you’re stupid. Doyoung, just go apologize—”

“And say  _ what?  _ I’m sorry for trying to kiss you? For crossing a boundary when you specifically asked me not to? Who says that he even wants to talk to me?”

Because he’d asked so politely, Doyoung did text Taeyong later that night, letting him know that he’d arrived home safely. Taeyong didn’t give him a response. There was just that little  _ Read  _ next to the message, indication enough that Taeyong saw the text but didn’t bother to reply. Doyoung was just so tired that he took it as a cue to fall asleep.

“It’s Taeyong,” Jaehyun says. “Of course he wants to talk to you—”

“I can assure you that he does not,” Doyoung interrupts. “I can’t deal with this right now, I need a fucking drink.”

“I— Doyoung…” Jaehyun sighs with frustration. “You can’t just get drunk and hope that it’ll solve all your problems. I mean, it might for the night, but you still have to wake up the next morning and like, smell the fucking coffee.”

Doyoung twists his face in distaste.

“I hate coffee.”

“I know,” Jaehyun nods. “But you still have to smell it.”

“UGH,” Doyoung groans, shoving face-down into his pillow so his screams become muffled.  _ “FUCK.” _

Jaehyun awkwardly pats him on the back.

“There, there.” he says. “Let it all out.”

Doyoung takes a deep breath.

“Okay, it’s all out,” he says. Then he abruptly stands up and grabs his jacket.

“Hey, where are you going?” Jaehyun calls out. Doyoung is already halfway through the door.

“To smell the fucking coffee,” Doyoung replies.

The door shuts behind him.

  
  
  


It’s eleven in the morning on a Saturday, which means Taeyong is either at the library or in his apartment. Doyoung takes his chance with the latter, running down the street in his mismatched sneakers and blue jacket that he’d thrown on right over last night’s clothes (disgusting, he knows, but when you drink as much as Doyoung does, falling asleep in jeans becomes a secondary trait).

He knocks on Taeyong’s door, just like he did last night. The only difference is that now, he’s going to fix mistakes instead of making them.

Taeyong cracks the door open an inch.

“Hi,” he says, opening it wider when he realizes it’s Doyoung. “Jaehyun said you were coming.”

Of course he did.

“Can we—“ Doyoung takes a moment to catch his breath, “—talk? Are you free?”

“Of course I’m free,” Taeyong says. “You know my schedule. Even on weekends.”

“Yeah, that's true,” Doyoung admits. “Can I come in?”

“Yeah,” Taeyong says. “I’ll make you some tea.”

It’s the little things, Doyoung realizes as he follows Taeyong into his kitchen. Taeyong quite likes tea himself but he’ll always brew an extra mug because he knows Doyoung likes hot beverages that aren’t coffee. Then Doyoung realizes that Jaehyun was right. They’re so fucking whipped for each other that it’s not even funny. Well, it’s actually pretty funny but Doyoung can’t find it in himself to laugh because his heart is beating so hard it might knock out of his chest and he just doesn’t want to fuck any of this up.

Taeyong pours the hot water and while the tea still brews, Doyoung takes Taeyong’s hand and holds it between his own.

“Taeyong. Look, I—”

Taeyong looks up at him inquisitively, quiet in a way he usually isn’t.

“I’m sorry,” Doyoung says. “I’m sorry about yesterday. I was drunk, which is no excuse, but I missed you a lot and I really did come just to see you for a bit. I wasn’t trying to spend the night or anything, I really just wanted to see you, you have to understand that. I know I crossed a line that you asked me not to. You set your boundaries for a reason and I just stepped over then like it was nothing. I just hope that you can forgive me because I really want to make this work.”

It’s silent for a moment and Doyoung thinks  _ this is it.  _ This is how it ends.

But then Taeyong beams and his smile honestly lights up Doyoung’s whole heart.

“I’m glad you apologized,” he says. “Because this next part is my favorite.”

Doyoung tilts his head, a question in his eyes.

“What part?”

“This one,” Taeyong says.

And then he kisses him.

**Author's Note:**

> me? post 3 fics in one week? on MY ao3? it’s more likely than you think lmao can you tell that the quarantine has been getting to me?
> 
> just wanted to say thank you to everyone who’s previously left comments and kudos 💚 you guys are the light of my life and as always, thank you for reading until the end 💚


End file.
